1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a refrigeration apparatus and, more particularly, to a barrel-type refrigerator system with a drain pan.
2. Description of Related
Refrigeration systems have been around for numerous years. Refrigeration systems are based on either a compression system or an absorption system. The everyday household refrigerator uses a compressor based refrigeration system. This system takes a liquid and passes it through an evaporator which will evaporate the refrigerant liquid thus pulling heat from the refrigerator zone. This evaporated liquid is then passed through a condenser and converted back into a liquid where the heat is dispensed into the outer atmosphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,969 to Schwitzgebel discloses a method for refrigerating fresh products and keeping them fresh, and a refrigerator for carrying out such method. The Schwitzgebel patent uses a refrigerator for maintaining high humidity. This is accomplished by using oversized evaporator surfaces maintained at a frost-free temperature. Forced air is continuously passed over the evaporator and over a drip water dish within the refrigerator compartment. This compartment is then vented to the outside of the refrigerator to complete the refrigeration system.
Most refrigerators like the one described above are bulky large units which are nearly impossible for one person to move on their own. The refrigeration units grocery or supermarket stores use are large units usually bolted or permanently set within the store area. These refrigeration systems are also based on compressor style systems.
Supermarkets and/or grocery stores at times use temporary displays of refrigerated foods, the stores currently use an ice bucket type of set up. This is a system where ice is placed within a barrel or bucket and the product is temporarily stored on top of the ice to keep the product cold. This does not work well for frozen products because the ice can only keep the product frozen for a minimal amount of time. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a temporary moveable barrel-type refrigerator which can be moved from location to location and can be used to refrigerate a food product and/or freeze a food product. This type of system will remove the messy spills of ice based systems and will enable grocers to have displays of food at any location.